brewbooks from near Seattle, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
First, I want to express my deepest appreciation to the readers who confirmed the value of my work and gave me plenty of reasons to continue writing and keep the site open. Many of those comments brought tears of joy to my eyes—and made a mess of my carefully applied mascara.
I identified three “fuck it” choices concerning the future, and while mulling over my options, I said to myself, “Hey! This is just like Let’s Make a Deal! Pick one and get the hell on with it!”
- Door #1 (continue with the 2026 plan): NOT CHOSEN. I have to admit that my plan WAS the problem. I did the Tragically Hip a disservice by reviewing their music at a faster pace than I had done with other artists whose names are on the menu bar. Those studies took several years to compile, allowing me to provide readers with something different each week. I will eventually review at least one of the Hip’s remaining albums to earn them a spot on the menu bar in honor of their massive contributions to Canadian music.
- Door # 2 (stop writing) NOT CHOSEN. I have selected twenty-one albums and series to review between now and my renewal date, most of which fill gaps in my exploration of popular music from 1920 to 2023 or conclude certain narratives. My selections also include some of the reader requests made earlier this year. Those reviews will be published on a bi-weekly basis until I resolve my employment conundrum.
- Door #3 (close the site): NOT CHOSEN. Thanks to my mother questioning my sanity and the many readers who expressed their desire to keep the site open for themselves and future generations, the altrockchick will remain on the web for as long as practically possible.
I guess by not choosing any of the doors, I am now the Let’s Make a Deal contestant from hell. I kinda like that.
I also made a few changes to the website:
- I have disabled the unreliable “Like” button on all posts because my readers convinced me it is not a valid statistic for determining how I’m doing. You can still like comments.
- After temporarily removing the requirement to log in before posting a comment, I restored it because the change turned previous contributors into invisible beings. The problem seems to involve a conflict between two WordPress plugins. Since my plan is a legacy plan that is no longer available to new bloggers, it’s not a priority for the folks in IT. I’m searching for workarounds.
Now, to my second Monty Hall Problem: choosing one of three options for earning a living.
- Door #1: I could extend my consulting contract with the EU for another two or three years.
- Door #2: I could let my EU contract lapse while looking for a job in Ireland.
- Door #3: I could accept the offer of a promotion to middle management, earn more money, gain some juice within the organization, and spend a lot of time in Brussels.
Doors #2 and 3 would severely limit my ability to write new reviews, and I want to retain that option. I’m hoping to work something out with my director that involves pushing for changes to the EU’s new immigration policy while still playing the role of an outsider in a consulting role. I’ve always followed Joel Barker’s belief that paradigm shifts are created by outsiders, and I don’t want to get sucked into the bureaucracy. One of the reasons they offered me the management job was because of my work as an outsider. My report on the struggles of LGBTQ+ people I met with during Pride events in Budapest was part of the evidence submitted to the European Court of Justice that found Orban’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws guilty of violating EU laws. When I meet with my director, I’m going to use that example to justify my case. The bottom line is I can’t promise I will write new reviews after the twenty-one already in progress (except for one Hip review) until I have stable employment.
If none of those options come to fruition, one of my readers reminded me that even without a job in the field, I can still make a difference in the fight to secure human rights: “IMO informing about the achievements of culture, art, music IS fighting for human rights!” Thank you, Karsten!
Those words also inspired me to rethink my American Boycott, but I still need proof that Americans are serious about banishing Voldemort to Nowheresville. By “serious,” I mean having the common sense to elect enough Democrats to take control of both the House and the Senate in the midterms. Taking the House is the more likely possibility, but failure to take the Senate would still allow the evil one to fill the judiciary with mediocrities who will do his bidding and add more incompetent toadies to his fucked-up administration. History shows that the opposition party usually does well in the midterms, and if the Democrats can’t pull off the double win with Voldemort’s pathetic approval ratings on their side, the USA will continue its descent into madness—and the boycott will remain in place.
Here are the reviews I have planned (though I’m a bit iffy on a couple of them). The next review will appear on May 10, as I need some time to regroup and research.
- Echobelly, On
- Midnight Oil, Diesel and Dust
- Kraftwerk, Trans-Europe Express
- Getz-Gilberto (not a violation of the boycott because the Brazilians outnumber the Americans)
- David Bowie, Diamond Dogs
- Kirsty MacColl, Tropical Brainstorm
- June Tabor, Rosa Mundi
- Traveling Wilburys, Vol 1 (technically a violation, but only a misdemeanor; my father will pay the fine)
- Post-War Music (1945-1955) (definitely a violation of the boycott, but fuck it)
- Split Enz, Second Thoughts
- Tangerine Dream, Phaedra
- Big Bill Broonzy, Trouble in Mind
- Prefab Sprout, Steve McQueen
- Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus
- Neil Young, On the Beach
- Ella Fitzgerald, Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas
- Michael Kiwanuka, Love and Hate
- Nick Drake: The Rest of the Story
- Charles Mingus: Black Saint and the Sinner Lady
- The Go-Betweens: 16 Lovers Lane (Valentine’s Day Special!)
- The Rolling Stones: Goats Head Soup
If some room opens up in my schedule, I will slip in Hoodoo Gurus Mars Needs Guitars, The Chills Submarine Bells, and my long-awaited venture into classical music with Schubert’s Symphony No. 9.
Thank you again for your honest and helpful feedback and for restoring my confidence. Rolling Stone and Pitchfork may have millions more followers, but I have the best followers in the world!
So happy to see this post! Great selection of future reviews. Always look forward to your impression of many of these albums. Thanks for continuing to be you and make us feel like we are a part of your family!
You are the best. Thank you. And here’s a gift from Django…not the one with the clarinet, but more guitar. Enjoy…con mucho amor!
Apologies for repeating myself, but I feel strongly that boycotting white American music draws an arbitrary lines, both racial and political, that end up punishing some artists for a system they don’t control while ignoring others who actively push back against it. It also raises inconsistencies, such as where you place a band like Rage Against the Machine that has both white and non-white members, or someone like Bruce Springsteen, who’s been consistently and loudly anti-Trump in both his music and his activism? A protest that reacts without recognizing those distinctions risks missing the very voices working toward the change it’s calling for.
My work is focused on music history. As I do not review any album until three years after publication, any current protest songs from any country would be dated by the time I got around to them (assuming I found the album interesting). Both Springsteen and Rage Against the Machine are on my no-fly list because I don’t care for their music in the least, and I think it is more respectful to their fans to admit my bias and avoid reviewing them. In my most recent post, I noted that two of my upcoming reviews will violate the boycott: the Wilburys because it’s a gift to my father, and a study of post-war music from the years 1945-1955 because it’s impossible to present the history of that era properly without Sinatra, Como, Patti Page, Frankie Laine and other white artists. If staying true to my mission involves a few inconsistencies, I can live with that.
You are the most competent and thorough music writer and reviewer out there, and I do very much appreciate your edge. Your lyrical breakdowns, your take on rhythm and chord combinations and changes from a musician’s perspective along side your obviously passionate fandom make for great reading, and always mange to reveal my blind spots and the biases in my listening. So many times I have returned to an album and heard it differently with fresh ears and elevated perspective after digging in to your reviews. You’re the listening pal that gets it.
Appreciate you. Don’t you dare stop!
Rebel angel,
Gratitude for trying to make the world a more pleasant place! And complete gratitude for your beautiful writings!
Sincerely,
Sheridan
So happy to hear this. Rolling Stone and Pitchfork may have more followers but they also have much deeper pockets. I can see that you’ve got a very full slate for now but if you’re looking for an American band to explore you may want to consider Los Lobos, four Mexican Americans and one Jewish guy. They have always written about the Latin experience in the US and those folks are also under attack in the States. Keep up the good fight.
Looking forward to Diamond Dogs, and also seeing if you share my fanatical loathing of Goat Head’s Soup’s album cover.
Hello ~ So glad you’re staying in the game. Even when I don’t agree with you, I love the way you write and can generally understand where you’re coming from. As others have stated, It’s truly amazing since I’m nearly twice your age. Keep on keepin’ on. We all love you and as I said, you’re a pleasure to know
That’s great news on a sunny morning in Vancouver! I am glad to hear you are continuing on and look forward to your latest list of album reviews. I see a few of my favourites on the list and a few I’m not familiar with. I have bought many new albums based on your reviews and sit down and listen with new ears to the ones I already have. I also enjoy when you put chord progressions in your work and talk about how they influence the song, create moods etc. Have a great day!
16 Lovers Lane is one of my favorite albums. I look forward to your always insightful commentary.
Sigh of relief and looking forward to planned reviews and beyond not to mention the fruits of your adult job. Thank you for both. Fuck Donald Trump and his supporters at every level. I’m staying in Mexico unti the USA makes a huge left turn….. so maybe forever.
And I’ll never set foot in that fucking country . . . maybe forever.
So this was a ray of sunshine on a grey day in DC. So glad to see you will remain in the saddle. I was going to comment last week that you should first heed Alicia, and then second, heed the words of the immortal Chuck Jones, the man who took “Looney Tunes” over in the 1930’s and made Bugs, Porky, Foghorn Leghorn, Taz, and the rest of them the most beloved fictional characters ever created – the favorites of children of all ages. ABC did a HUGE 50th anniversary special on him back in the 80’s that featured everyone from David Bowie to Mel Blanc. The final word was given to Chuck. Whereupon he said, “People always ask me, ‘Did you make Bugs Bunny for kids, or did you make it for their grownup parents?” The truth is, we didn’t make Bugs for children. We didn’t make Bugs for adults. We made Bugs for ourselves.” And in following their bliss, they made many people happy. Keep at it, ARC.
It makes me very happy to know that I can look forward to at least 21 more artful reviews from. you.
Thrilled to see you continue and the review list is very exciting.
Wow, I’m glad my previous comment made a little difference.
But I’m even more exited that you won’t shut the shop and continue with whatever may come. Plus a detour into classical music? I love that.
Okay, that was a good way to start the day. Cheers.
I have to say I, for one, am extremely glad you are continuing your fight for human rights AND writing the best reviews on the internet. It strikes me as funny that I am a million years older than you and yet your writing completely resonates with me. In addition, the albums you choose are mostly all in my collection including the ones on your current list. And, to add Mars Needs Guitars as a possibility? Total synchronicity.
Thank-you, yet again, for your tremendous efforts in analyzing and reviewing so much music at such a high level.
Thank you! As the only child of a pair of baby boomers, I do share many of their tastes and values, and my musical training only confirmed the music of the 60s and 70s was exceptional.
Don’t discount the growing influence of AI-generated search results. It is stealing content and sucking the life (and traffic) out of writers like you. I run a similar website – original writing about music – and my traffic has plummeted since Google introduced AI-generated summaries. It doesn’t reflect your (or my) value one whit. Stills sucks, though.
Aha! Well, we’ll just have to tough it out and hope the powers that be realize AI is causing harm everywhere.